UEA freshers (2019 starters) part 2

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Previous thread and hope you don't mind that I set up the next thread @juicy0. Just did it to ensure that we carry on chatting seamlessly

lets. Not let's. Flipping autocorrect.

Oh no @icanbewhatiwant -that is difficult. Sending best wishes to you all

Oh no @icanbewhatiwant so sorry to hear about your dog, her poor daughter. I’m always wondering if I should get another dog to keep mine company, but this shows another side I hadn’t thought of. I hope mum stays cancer free for a good while longer.

Good that your dog is back home but not about her prognosis @icanbewhatiwant. Hoping she says okay for as long as possible. A worry for her and her daughter if you don't think she'll cope well without mum.

£7K is steep for a year's accommodation. Norwich, I would have thought, would be quite a cheap place to live...

Can I ask, are you all expecting to foot the bill for the three months' of summer renting (when the young people may not even be living there)? I have told DS I expect him to pay (although at the rate he's going with his loan and money we give him, he'll probably be able to pay a month or two from unspent monies!!!)

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 I had a look on the university's Home Run website and I struggled to find anything else as expensive as the house ds has found 🙄 Needless to say I have bombarded him with links to many cheaper alternatives. We are expecting to pay for the whole year for him as I don't think they will be able to do anything other than get a full years lease and we pay for his accommodation currently and he lives off his maintenance loan.

@MrsBartlet good to hear that our hunches were correct about cheaper accommodation being available.

I don't think we could afford to pay for DS's accommodation in its entirety - certainly not nearly £7K. We are busy trying to pay off our own mortgage.

What interested me, when I've had a couple of quick looks at what is available for students, is that generally, most seem to be roughly the same price. However, there seems to be quite a lot of variation in how nice the properties look. I suppose close to the campus demands higher rent for grottier accommodation than houses further away?

Thanks for the good wishes for the dog. I've told ds. I sent a message to say she hadn't been well and had to have an op. That got a fairly quick reply as messages about other things have been ignored! Anyway...I sent a pic of the dog now looking her normal self. But I have told him the prognosis doesn't look great and all we can do is wait. He read the message and didn't reply.

Ds is not replying about the house decision. I said on here that he missed one he really liked, I think it was £105 each including bills. It looked nice. £5,250 for the 50 weeks would have been ok. That is less than he's paying now for 38 weeks. If he joins in with 3 of the group and goes for the more expensive house then that will be nearer £7000 when they add on bills. I'm adding about £15 week for household bills. Excluding food. Does that sound right? I have noticed a few properties have said if they want bills included then it's another £18 each per person per week. That may be more than it would be if they paid their own bills, but I'd rather ds pay that and at least it's all sorted and they don't have to worry about someone not chipping in or someone running the bill up etc.

@mrsbartlet I would say that is at the very top end of accommodation costs for student rentals. DD and her friends have just signed up for a 4 bed place that's £107 or £112 for a double room including bills ( the £112 is for en-suite)

I just looked at the forms we signed for DS looks like he’s paying £360 a month, bills on top, he’s got a nice house but there are 8 of them 3 bathrooms (bathroom, shower room and an en-suite) but they got in very early as they thought it was too good to miss.

I think it is very top end from the research I have done. I am hoping when his friends discuss it with their parents that they will ask them to look again as well!

@Itscoldouthere that sounds like a good deal and a good idea to act quickly as there aren't that many 8 bed options from what I've seen

@juicy0 I think my DS has lucked out with some together/organised flat mates, it certainly wasn’t instigated by him.
He’s sticking with 7 from his current flat, plus the addition of the girlfriend of one of them, they seem to all get on well which is brilliant for my DS (who’s not the most outgoing social person).
I was initially unsure if commiting so early was a good idea, but I do think it made it quite easy, they only looked at 2 properties and it seems a good price.

had a very brief convo with DS today - he's found somewhere for £105 + bills - on the bus route - it seems to be the going rate

I was at a funeral so couldn't really discuss, but said if he's happy go for it

Ds won't reply to me when I ask what he's doing house wise. So I'm assuming he's going with the more expensive place. I have asked him quite a few times. But I've given up asking now.

He answered instantly when I told him the dog hadn't been well. So I know he reads the messages.

I decided to try a different way of asking. Ds messaged about something else. So while in conversation I texted "I take it you are going with the more expensive property" He replied with yes. £120 week before bills...eek!
Apparently the guy that can't pay that much has gone in with another group. The other guy that wasn't sure is taking a year out next year so he's out too. They've already replaced those 2, ds said his current flatmates are finding it hard to get a property so he thought he'd better stick with the group.

@icanbewhatiwant eek indeed! Good that he's doing f a group he's happy to live with though, it would be more worrying if he didn't have people he wanted to share with. Will he have to get a job while he's at uni? DD is applying for a role with the su as venue staff - everything from box office to cloakroom attendants to bar staff - to start next term. They can sign up to shifts a max of 15 hours a week I think. Closing date is 29th Jan and details are on the su website.

Phew, DS 2 has put a holding deposit on a 4 bed in Bowthorpe Rd, West Earlham today. They looked at 9 houses in one day!! £80 per week each and 15 mins walk from UEA

@sluj that is a much better price to pay.
@juicy0 he hasn't got a lot of time for work as he does quite a few hours for biology, only off weds afternoon and weekends. I can't see him working evenings. He worked last summer and that money he is living from at the moment. I think he wants to work this summer too. I'm probably being mean as I've not given him any extra money at the moment. He didn't get the full loan but not minimum either. Obviously he's going to need money from us next year.

That's a good price @sluj !

Does anyone know what West Earlham is like? Ds is looking at a house in Stevenson Road and it seems cheap- £88 per week. Just wondering if there is a reason for that like it is a rough area? The house itself looks fine.

@MrsBartlet my DD has signed up for a similar area. The area off Dereham Rd is not the nicest of areas but it's popular with students and there are plenty of student houses there.

The 'golden triangle' area around Unthank Road is much nicer with trendy student cafes and bars but it's much more expensive hence many students opt for the west earlham area instead.

Thanks @juicy0 - it is good to know that there are lots of students in the area. I lived in a similar looking in York in my second year and it was fine so I am probably being overly cautious!

My DS has signed up for a house in Dereham Road - his rent is now £98 as agent got it reduced

DS is only looking at a first potential property this week!!! I cannot believe how organised all your DC have been!

I wouldn't have thought Norwich has the same type of 'rough' areas as there are in large cities. Or am I being naive?